EPFO invested Rs 13,017 crore in ETFs during April-July this fiscal: Govt

Retirement fund body EPFO has invested Rs 13,017 crore in exchange traded funds (ETFs) in the April-July period of the current fiscal year, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) invested Rs 53,081 crore in ETFs in 2022-23, Rs 43,568 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 32,071 crore in 2020-21, according to a written reply to the Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for Labour and Employment Rameswar Teli.

The EPFO invested Rs 31,501 crore in ETFs in 2019-20 and Rs 27,974 crore in 2018-19, it said.

The minister told the House that the EPFO invests funds as per the investment pattern notified by the government and does not invest directly in individual stocks, including those of any blue-chip company.

"The EPFO invests in equity markets through ETFs, replicating BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 indices. From time to time, EPFO has also invested in ETFs constructed specifically for disinvestment of shareholding of the Government of India in body corporates," he stated.

The total corpus of various funds managed by the EPFO as of March 31, 2022, was Rs 18.30 lakh crore, consisting of 91.30 per cent investment in debt investments (including Public Account of India) and 8.7 per cent in ETFs.

In another reply to the House, Teli said the Code on Social Security, 2020 envisages social security benefits through formulation of schemes for gig and platform workers that can be implemented through EPFO and Employees' State Insurance Corporation, which provide social security benefits to organised sector workers.